Category: Dairy Free

Magic Chicken Soup

I. Love. Soup. I really love it and I try to make it at least every other week, sometimes once a week! My friend once said I’m the soup queen and my heart smiled. A good soup is packed with amazing nutrients, a great protein and tons of flavor and that is exactly what this is!

Picture it – it’s December 2021. The week between Christmas and New Years. Noses are running. Kids are coughing. Parents are panicking about covid, of course, but also about all the other illnesses kids can get. So what does this mama do? She looks up all the veggies and herbs that have amazing healing properties and she whips up a soup that is ultra curing and tastes incredible.

So here is my Magic Chicken Soup. It was made twice during this week between the holidays and it was gobbled up both times. AND it is the perfect recipe to share with you all during this new year and state of runny noses and tired bodies.

One of the most important things to do with a soup is to let the flavors build. You don’t want to just add everything to a pot, cover with liquid and call it a day. Taking time to cook each thing and letting the herbs and spices mix and blend is key! After you add each ingredient, stir and let it sit for 2-3 minutes before moving on to the next step. Don’t rush the beginning steps before simmer time, trust me!

I LOVE to make my own bone broth but I don’t always have it on hand. There are so many amazing quality bone broths out there that I turn to when making soup. You can also make a quick version of your own broth by just adding water as your liquid. Since this is a healing soup though, and bone broth has WONDERFUL healing properties, if you add water instead of an already made broth, let it simmer on low for at least an hour and a half to extract the most out of those chicken bones!

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5 from 1 vote

Magic Chicken Soup

A little spin on traditional chicken soup filled with all the healing foods to cure any type of sickness.
Course Soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 6 Servings
Author Nikki

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch Oven a large stock pot can also be used

Ingredients

  • 3 ribs celery chopped
  • 3 large carrots peeled, chopped
  • 2 medium yellow onions chopped
  • 1 1/2 inches ginger root grated, split in half
  • 1/2 large lemon zest
  • 2 tblsp fresh sage finely chopped
  • 2 tblsp fresh basil finely chopped
  • 7 ounces shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 large lemon, juiced or two small/medium size
  • 2 pieces chicken on the bone 2 hind quarters or breast quarters. Or one of each
  • 1 cup spinach and/or kale gently packed
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 48 ounces bone broth (1 1/2 cartons) chicken or beef or homemade or water
  • salt
  • olive oil

Instructions

  • Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in dutch oven.
  • Chop celery, carrots and onion and add to pot.
  • Sprinkle with salt and add pepper.
  • Once veggies start to get soft, add half the amount of grated ginger and all the lemon zest. Stir.
  • Add chopped sage and basil. Stir.
  • Rinse mushrooms and thinly slice them.
    In your pot, move veggies to the sides so you can see the bottom of the pot. Add a drizzle of olive oil and put the mushrooms in a little at a time and let them brown and cook slightly. Repeat this till all the mushrooms have been added and are almost fully cooked.
  • Add half the amount of the lemon juice to deglaze the pot – either one small lemon or half of a large lemon – scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of it.
  • Add the minced garlic and the rest of the grated ginger. Stir.
  • Place chicken skin side down on top of the veggies.
  • Add broth till chicken and veggies are completely covered. Usually takes one and a half 32 ounce cartons of broth. You can just cover with water also.
  • Let simmer on low to medium heat till chicken is full cooked, at least 45 minutes.
  • Remove chicken and shred off the bone and add back to the soup.
  • Add in the spinach/kale and let it wilt into the soup.
  • Add the rest of the lemon juice, stir and serve!

Tuscan Soup

I am such a huge soup fan. I love when September hits and its time to make all the soups, stews and chilis! This Tuscan Soup is great for the cold weather but can be perfect even when its still warm out!

I spent a little while looking for a soup recipe one day and came across a few Tuscan ones. They all looked great but weren’t fully doing it for me. So I took some tips from this one and that one and added my own flare and this puppy was born!

I don’t know about you but when I feed my family soup I feel like I’m making them starve. It’s a silly thought because there’s just as much protein, veggies and carbs as a plate of food but for some reason ‘soup’ seems light. This soup is not light though, and in a good way. It is hearty and filling and citrusy and oh so good!

The blending of this with the immersion blender is key. It makes it a little creamier and thicker while still leaving chunks of the vegetables. You can blend the whole thing till smooth and then wilt in the kale and add the sausage or choose to not blend it at all. Up to you!

The fresh squeezed lemon on top at the end is where the magic happens. It adds a pop of citrus brightening the whole dish and making each other flavor deeper. Don’t skip this! You can even slice up the lemon and let it simmer within the soup.

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Tuscan Soup

A hearty, creamy and filling take on a traditional tuscan soup.
Course Soup
Cook Time 30 minutes

Equipment

  • Immersion Blender

Ingredients

  • 6 italian sausage links removed from the casing
  • 1 white onion diced
  • 3 large carrots peeled and diced
  • 2 large cloves garlic minced
  • 1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 box chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 cups nut pods
  • 1 bag mini potatoes
  • 1 lemon

Instructions

  • Remove sausage from casing. In large pot, crumble sausage and cook through. Remove from pot.
  • add 2 tbsp olive oil. Sauté onion and carrots till soft. Add minced garlic. cook for 4 minutes.
  • Add can of fire roasted tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes.
  • Add chicken stock and nut pods and potatoes. bring to a boil and simmer till potatoes are fork tender.
  • With an immersion blender, blend soup to desired thickness. You can skip this step, blend soup completely, or blend half way still leaving bits of onion, carrots and potato.
  • Wilt in kale, add back sausage and juice one lemon over top.
  • Stir and serve!

Sweet Potato Breakfast Stacks

I throw it down for breakfast! Breakfast could potentially be my flavorite meal of the day. And I LOVE eggs.

I think it’s hard for people who aren’t a fan of eggs to find a nutritious meal first thing in the morning. I’m not a fan of oatmeal everyday, causing a spike in blood sugar right from the jump. If you like eggs like me, you’ll love these stacks. And if you can tolerate eggs, then you have to try these to switch up your boring scrambles and give you some perspective on a better yet tasty egg sandwich.

These are totally customizable too. Don’t have prosciutto? No problem. That ham or turkey will do just fine. Hey, you can even use some bacon! No arugula? That’s okay. Spinach is great too or even that left over zucchini from dinner last night will work. Use what you have and what you like and you’ll have an amazing Sweet Potato Stack of your own!

I used Kite Hill dairy free cream cheese on these for the first time and it was great! If you don’t like your eggs super runny, the addition of the cream cheese is a good touch.

I started using sweet potatoes in place of breads when I did my first round of whole30. I have not looked back! Sure, I love an occasional true piece of toast but using a sweet potato makes everything a little sweeter, fluffier and all around better for my insides. I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing anything because they really are that good!

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5 from 1 vote

Sweet Potato Breakfast Stacks

A healthy, whole30 tasty breakfast everyone will love.
Course Breakfast
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 1 person

Ingredients

  • 4 slices sweet potato 1/4-1/2 inch thick
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 slices tomato
  • 2 slices prosciutto
  • bunch arugula
  • smear cream cheese kite hill dairy free

Instructions

  • Slice 4 large round sweet potatoes about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick.
  • Heat olive oil in medium pan over medium heat. Fry sweet potato on both sides till both sides are brown.
  • In same pan, cook eggs over easy – or to desired wellness.
  • Assemble stacks – sweet potato, tomato slice, prosciutto, arugula, egg, cream cheese on top sweet potato. TA-DA!!

Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff Copy Cat

I really wanted to add to my copy cat recipes and Hamburger Helper seemed like the next perfect one!

When I was little, hamburger helper always grossed me out. I don’t know if I thought the meat came from the box, silly I know, but I didn’t know too much about the packaged mix to know it wasn’t all that good for you so the only rational thought is I disliked the meat part. My dad though, was a fan of it and my mom would always make her and I something else on these nights. She would often create her own version and skip the boxed stuff too.

I wanted to make something geared toward them. Something my dad would enjoy that my mom could make healthier. This did not disappoint.

It’s of course gluten free and dairy free. You can however, use your own choice of pasta. Just make sure to measure out the pasta if you use one different than Banza. The box of Banza is only 8 ounces. Typically regular pasta is 16 ounces. So use half the box or double the recipe OR try out the BANZA!!

This is also dairy free. My choice of “cream” here is Nutpods! They are becoming my flavorite cream/milk substitute lately. They are truly neutral tasting without sacrificing thickness. Make sure to get the original unflavored kind!

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Beef Stroganoff Hamburger Helper Copy Cat

A clean version of a hearty childhood flavorite.
Course Main Course
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author Nikki Fricke

Equipment

  • One Pot

Ingredients

  • 3/4 lb ground beef
  • 1 8 oz box Banza Pasta, cavatappi or 2 1/4 cups preferred pasta
  • 1 white onion diced
  • 10 cremini mushrooms finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 1/2 cups nutpods unsweetened/original
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp kite hill cream cheese
  • 1 tbsp arrowroot starch
  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

  • In medium size pot, heat 2 tbsp ghee over medium heat.
  • Add diced onion and mushroom. Cook about 5 minutes till translucent.
  • Add minced garlic and cook another 5 minutes till all fragrant and fully cooked.
  • Remove with slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.
  • Add ground beef, salt, pepper and paprika and brown the meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
  • Put mushroom and onions back in the pot. Add 2 cups broth, 1 1/2 cups nut pods and 8oz box of Banza Pasta. Make sure pasta is covered with liquid. Bring to a boil, then simmer till pasta is cooked through – follow timing on box of pasta.
  • When pasta is cooked, turn heat to low. Remove 1/2 cup of the liquid into another bowl and add arrowroot starch. Whisk to make a slurry. Add back to the pot to thicken.
  • Add 2 tbsp Kite Hill cream cheese and mix.
  • Serve and garnish with fresh parsley.